Kathleen walked around leisurely in front of her door, she attempted to open it but refrained herself. “Why are you doing this? Stay back if you're nervous. I don't know why you're stopping me from going inside when you're not ready.” Rowan said rapturously. She had been stopping him from opening the door and she wasn't going to open it.
After Rowan informed her about the plan he had for Charlene, she was super elated after hearing the news. She was sure Charlene would be happy about the whole thing. Rowan hadn't mentioned anything about it to Charlene, she just returned from school so he thought it was the perfect time to discuss it with her.
“My Charlene will be excited after hearing about the marriage. I'm not sure I'm ready to face her right now.” Kathleen said enthusiastically. She clasped her hands then took in her lower lip, she parted her long lashes slowly while looking at Rowan.
“Then stay back, let me do it.” Rowan said as he rolled his eyes. He handled the doorknob but Kathleen was quick enough to stop him from twisting it. “Can we stay here for a while? I'm not ready yet and I want to be there when you tell her.”
“Since you're not ready, I'm heading back to our room.” Rowan enunciated, he was about to turn around when they heard the clunk of the door. Charlene stepped out of her room only to find her parents in front of her door. Kathleen pretended as if she was strolling around while Rowan and Charlene fixed their gazes on her perplexingly.
“What are you guys doing here?” Charlene inquired, looking at them suspiciously.
“Oh. I just want to say hi to you. Is Charles in your room?” Kathleen narrowed her eyes.
“You stepped out of my room two minutes ago.” Charles showed up behind Kathleen. She startled back when she heard his voice from behind. “What's going on?” Charles and Charlene exchanged looks, they shrugged their shoulders as they focused their gazes on their parents.
Rowan cleared his throat to attract their attention. “I want to discuss something important with you.” Rowan directed his sentence to her.
“With me? I hope there's no problem.” Charlene was holding a text book in her right hand, he extended her hand to Charles and he collected it from her.
“Baby, it's something you've been dreaming of. It's just like a dream come true.” Kathleen announced pushing Charlene back to her room, Rowan entered then Charles followed, he closed the door then sauntered to the bed.
“What's it? You guys are making me nervous. Spit it out mom, dad. Wait Charles, do you know about it?” Charlene stared at him intently.
Charles threw his hands in the air abruptly. He pouted his lips like a baby. “I don't know what they're talking about.”
“Can you two sit and listen to us?”
“Okay.” They sat beside each other while their parents stood in front of them. Kathleen smiled brightly while looking at Charlene strangely. “We're listening.” They said in a union.
“You remember the last time Bryant and I excused ourselves to have a discussion? Well, actually it's about you and Richard.”
“What happened to him? What about us?” Charlene interjected.
“Nothing really. Before I told him anything about you he had already brought up an arranged marriage between you and Richard. He asked a lot about you and after I told him that you love Richard after seeing his photo in the magazine, he was happy about it. Both of us concluded an arranged marriage between you and his son.” Rowan divulged anxiously.
“What! Did I hear you right, dad?” Charles and Charlene gasped bewilderedly. It sounded like a boom in Charlene's ears. “Arranged what?”
“Very soon your dream is going to come true.” Kathleen held her hands in hers, she looked at her face feverishly.
“Arranged marriage for your daughter? What are you thinking dad? Whatever promise you made to that man, I'm not getting married to Richard. I'm not old enough to be engaged to anyone, moreover he has a son.” Charlene protested solemnly.
“That's not an excuse. Isn't that what you want?” Rowan tried to sound calm but he was exasperated by her outburst.
“What do I want? Dad, you don't know what I want. What I want is to go on a vacation after university, not to get married while I'm still in university.” Charlene said insolently and stood up.
“Charlene!” He hollered furiously. Kathleen looked at Charlene perturbedly.
“Dad, you also have to listen to me and put my words into consideration. This is about my future not yours, I'm not ready to start a new life with someone I don't know.” Her voice cracked emotionally.
“I want the best for you. Isn't that what you've always been dreaming of?”
“Calm down dad.” Charles drew her to sit back on the bed. “I'm going to talk to her dad. Just give her some time to think it over.” Charles couldn't side with anyone at the moment. Actually she was supposed to make decisions herself, not her parents.
“Perhaps something happened at the party? Did he hurt you?” Kathleen murmured but none of what they were saying enticed Rowan, he left the room without sparing anyone a glance. “Charlene, talk to me. Did anything happen that night at the party?”
“Nothing happened. This is about my life. How can I marry someone I don't know, a total stranger?”
“I'm going to talk to her, mom.” Kathleen walked toward the door reluctantly. She glanced back for the last time before exiting the room.
“What now?”
“Arranged marriage, my foot.” She rolled her eyes.
“I thought you loved him.”
“Of course I still do. I'm just not ready for marriage, I'm only twenty-three.”
“I'll talk to dad. Just give me some minutes, I'll be right back.” Charles also left the room.
Charlene scanned her room vaguely. She ran her fingers through her hair and cursed underneath. “That arrogant fool!” She gnawed on her lower lips.
***
All the babysitters he hired never met up to his expectations. Richard was a strict man, it was easy for the babysitter to exasperate him with their heedlessness. After the little home accident he fired the former babysitter then he hired Tylor.
As docile as Tylor seemed to be, she was a kleptomaniac. Richard had caught her stealing from him through footage but he said nothing. It had gotten to a point that she stole his wedding ring. After he divorced Henrietta he took off the ring to forget about the memories they shared together.
Tylor trespassed and she was going to pay for it. He had kept quiet but he wouldn't let it go this time. “I'm sorry sir. Please don't let them take me away. I promise I'm going to change.” Tylor scrawled away from the cop's grips toward where Richard was sitting.
“Do you need me to do your job for you, huh?” He snapped at the clumsy cops ferociously.
“Of course not.” The cops handcuffed her then took her away.
“Oh, I don't know why you can't stick to Nanny Harley.” Devyn scoffed, relaxing on the sofa.
“That woman is old, she can't take good care of Miguel at all. I have to hire a new babysitter, not Nanny Harley.”
“Today is too late,maybe tomorrow. I gotta go now, I have a date with someone.” Devyn lifted his hand to his face, glanced at the watch then sighed loudly.
“A date with one of your side chick? Hump. You're just a fucking asshole.” He scoffed, then up he rose. He took his phone.
“You aren't any different. At least I'm still better than you, all you do is sneak under their skirts and treat them like trash. You're a real asshole.”
“Ouch! That hit me so hard. Let me accompany you outside. I have an appointment with dad tonight.”
They sauntered out to the garage. Richard pressed the remote, his car beeped indicating an unlocked sound. “The business trip is in three days right?"
“I'm not your personal assistant, go meet your sexy PA.” Richard opened the car door, he hopped in and drove out of the mansion before Devyn.
He drove into the parking lot, he alighted majestically. He stalked inside and met Luciana in the living room, cuddling on the sofa while going through her phone. “Mom.”
“Your father is upstairs. I know you're not here because of me.” She drawled without sparing a glance.
“Actually I'm here because I need your assistance.” She put her phone aside, switched her gaze to meet his. Richard sauntered to a sofa, he sat down and faced Luciana. “I fired Miguel's babysitter.”
Luciana twisted her lips and gave him a nonchalant gesture. “So?”
“Mom, I'm going on a business trip in three days and there's no way I'll hire a new babysitter I know nothing about. I can't be reckless to leave my son in the hands of a total stranger.”
Luciana blinked severally and her gaze focused on him. “Okay… what exactly do you want me to do? To be your son's babysitter?” She asked annoyingly.
“Mom–”
“Son. What do you want me to do?”
“Help me out.” He demured, looking at her pitifully.
“I can't help you. You should have thought of that before you went ahead and divorced her because she chose a contract over you. It's her life, you know the kind of person she's before you married her and now, you're complaining. You ought to love thy woman in any circumstances. The maids can take care of your son while you're away. I'm not a babysitter, I'm someone's wife.” Luciana seethed, contracting her lips into a frown. She took her phone and put her feet on the floor.
A maid motioned to Richard anxiously to demand for what he'd like to have at the moment. “Sir would you like some…”
“Get the fuck out!” He snapped, making the maid flinch back stunningly due to his rasping voice. Other maids hid behind while pacing back sluggishly.
“You don't really have to get angry at the maids. You keep firing the babysitters the same way you fire your workers. None of them ever satisfied you. I don't even think there's anyone out there that can ever satisfy you, you're unappeasable. Richard Sullivan, shoot your shot for once.”
“What you need isn't a babysitter. You need a wife.” Bryant interrupted instantly as he stepped down from the staircase.
“What do you mean?” Puzzled, he lifted a brow at him with his eyes darkened with suspicion.
“I'm pretty sure the next babysitter you're going to hire will abduct your son. You're being careless with my grandson and I won't let you continue like this. I've discussed the whole thing with Rowan and I'm so glad he gave in to the arranged marriage proposal. Prepare yourself for that.”
“Arranged marriage, seriously?” Luciana jeered disgustingly.
“If that's some kind of joke, you have to stop. I don't need a wife!” He yelled, showing dislike.
He chortled then looked at his face. “Of course you don't need a wife but Miguel needs a mother. Someone that will take care of him not some stupid babysitter. I don't care about your opinion, my decision is final. We're going over to their place tomorrow and you have behaved yourself, Richard.” Bryant announced hostilely. “And one more thing, she's kind of your woman. After the marriage I'm pretty sure you'll be serious with your life and stop fucking around.” He pivoted to the stairs, he ascended the stairs heading back to his room.
“Like hell you're joking dad.” His eyes popped open bewilderedly. He blinked his eyes puzzlingly as he clenched his fists tightly.
“Of course not. He's not joking.” Luciana interrupted, putting her hand on his shoulder. “You still have a chance with her.”
“I don't get you?” Richard arched his eyebrows irritatedly. He was perplexed and didn't understand who she was talking about.
Luciana motioned away from him, she halted on the staircase then glanced back. “You haven't heard?” She asked then gripped the stairs railings. “Henrietta is back. I sent her an invitation, she's coming back for Miguel.”
Ultimately, Charlene had given up on convincing her father to give her a few days to contemplate what he told her, nothing seemed to change Rowan's mind. He invited Sullivan's family over for dinner so they could discuss the marriage preparation and also Richard and Charlene would get the chance to talk.Kathleen informed her that'd arrive by evening. Charlene had been in her room getting ready since it was twilight, at any time Richard and her parents would arrive. As she was about to leave her room Javier called to inform her he was outside waiting for her. Maids were preparing for tonight's event. She bumped into Flavia on her way out. “Where are you going in such a hurry, Charlene?” She queried, holding a new bedspread Charles demanded for. “I'm going out. Javier is outside waiting for me.” “Alright. I'm taking this
She had tried out different wedding gowns but none of them satiated Luciana, she always found a flaw in each gown she picked. Charlene had reached the verge of her patience, she wouldn't try another gown because she knew they'd definitely say something awful about it. She retired to a chair in the closet and took out her phone. She didn't bother to talk to her mother, Kathleen wouldn't listen to her, whatever Luciana said it was the final. Knowingly she knew that Richard took after her mother, he was nothing like Bryant.Luciana cleared her throat to attract her attention. Charlene switched her gaze from her phone to Luciana, she lifted a brow at her questioningly.“We'll check out another closet. They don't have what we want here.” She declared unconvincingly.Charlene was literally bored, they had spent forty minutes in the closet yet she couldn't pick a gown. There was a gown she loved but Luciana fo
“You should just let it go. You can't fight Sullivan's family all by yourself.” Dolly had been cautioning Henrietta, she knew her mind was made up however she wouldn't give up on her. They had been friends since highschool, if there was anyone that knew Henrietta better than anyone it was her.“I'm not doing it alone. I'm doing it for our son. Richard can throw away our family like that, I want my family back.” Henrietta seethed threateningly.“You should have given it a second thought when you signed the divorce contract with him. He was ready to give you twice the money the company offered but you chose the contract over your family.” She remembered knowingly.Henrietta glared at her, she winked at her surly and took her hand from the maid that was polishing her nails. “Leave!” She commanded imperatively. After the maid had left the living room, she gazed at her and
Devyn dropped the magazine on the couch then gazed at Richard at once. He was positively apoplectic with rage after hearing what he intended to do. Richard could see the fury in his eyes however he chose to ignore apathetically. Jeremy didn't bother to utter a word, he knew there was nothing he'd say to change his mind.“What the hell is wrong with you, Richard?” He snapped irksomely.“Just let it go, Dev. Richard won't change his mind.” Jeremy eventually said, despite the tension in the room he was calm and relaxed.Devyn huffed with annoyance. “You're not stopping the wedding, are you?”Richard scrolled down his contact list, scanning for Charlene's digits. Finally he hesitated before clicking on it. “I have the right to stop the wedding if I want to. It's not like I'm stopping it forever, I have to handle the emergency immediately. I can't avoid losi
Apart from the couple's families, the numbers of the guests that were present were half quarter of the choir. The priest was standing on the altar, he looked at the couple standing before him for a moment before proceeding with the marriage oath, it was the next thing after the exchange of the wedding rings.“Are you Richard Sullivan ready to take Charlene as your wife, forever during happy and hard times?” The priest gazed at Richard steadily. He expected him to answer him immediately but Richard's mind was far gone.An hour ago, before the bride arrived he made a strict order that whenever Henrietta arrived in the church she should be taken away and locked up in a room. He wouldn't want her to ruin his plan, he couldn't avoid getting his father pissed off again.When the priest noticed he wasn't listening he repeated and that jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked at him and glanced at Charlene, he
Charlene woke up to the sound of her ringtone, she roamed her hand on the bed searching for her phone, she slowly opened her eyes when she was unable to reach the nightstand. She rolled over in the king size bed and took her phone on the nightstand, before she could pick up the call, it had ended.She put the phone down on the bed, stretched her body and yawned lazily. “Gosh, it's Monday.” She covered her mouth with her hand when she yawned while looking around the room. She climbed down the bed and wore her flip flop slippers. She had spent two nights in the mansion, ever since he left she hadn't heard from him.Charlene doffed her clothes and went to the bathroom naked, she stepped under the shower and pressed a button on the wall. The cold water fell freely down to her body, she allowed the water to soothe her skin while relaxing to the coldness of it.In a few minutes she was done with everyth
The time flew faster than expected, she didn't tell him anything about it. Although Charles wasn't going to give up on advising her, hoping that she'd listen to him and do what was right. After school he drove her back to the mansion. Charlene alighted from the car, she waved a hand at him cheerfully before making her way into the mansion. As usual maids were seen walking around, busy with one or two things but something wasn't right, Charlene concluded in her thought. The seriousness and their focus on what they were doing were quite different from the past two days she had spent in the mansion. “Welcome back, ma'am.” A maid greeted, she was on her way heading toward the stairs but she halted. Charlene nodded once. “Would you like me to prepare the bathtub for your bath?” “No, you don't have to.” She replied and took the elevator upstairs. Before walking into her room she halted at the doorway, she looked behind her and noticed th
Muddled, Kathleen stared intently at Charlene who was contemplating a perfect excuse to give everyone around the table. She ran her right hand on her left hand, she sluggishly moved it to her lap and grinned anxiously.“I took it off this morning while I was taking my bath, I totally forgot to wear it after I was done.” She framed a lie and pouted her lips cutely.“Oh,” Luciana scoffed softly. “You know Charlene, it's your ring and you ought to wear it always.”Charlene nodded her head docilely. She picked the cutlery and began to eat, she listened to their conversation but she never uttered a word even if a question was directed to her. She nodded to every question and shook her head if it was the perfect response to give.Finally everyone left, Charlene bid her parents goodnight before returning inside alone. She left Richard behind and went to their
As he had promised her, the whole family went on a vacation. It wasn't long before they all returned home, Richard had to return to the office likewise Daniella had to return to school. Richard still didn't support her decision to start working, even if she was going to work not while she was pregnant. He was afraid that something bad might happen to her or their child.Now that the whole family was complete, Luciana couldn't ask for more. Back then she thought Henrietta was the best woman for his son because she knew how madly he was in love with her. However, things had changed and she didn't realize that her son's heart was now beating for someone else. It took long enough before Richard finally gave his mother a second chance, he still didn't believe her that she had no hand in what Henrietta did at the party a few years ago.Rowan couldn't be mad at his daughter forever. Of course, Charlene was his favorite and he loved her so much. Everybody was delighted that the couple was to
Despite the doctor assuring him his wife was going to be alright, Richard was still restless. When Daniella finally woke up, he felt a bit better but he was worried about Charlene and their unborn baby. She didn't tell him she was pregnant, he found out on his own. He saw the pregnancy test on her dressing table. All he wanted to hear from the doctor was ‘Your wife is fine and her baby.’ That was the only thing that would make him happy.That was unlike Luciana, telling the cops to make sure Henrietta should be put behind the bar for good. Henrietta survived the three bullets but for the rest of her life, she would never be balanced. They captured Ray alive as he surrendered immediately guns were pointing at him, and Tom died.“Dad, is mum going to be alright?” Daniella took his hand.He looked down, carrying her up in his arms. He flashed her a painful smile. “She'll be fine.” The first thing he would ever do was apologize to her for all the trouble she went through because of him. I
Henrietta knew Richard would come to her house so she took them to a warehouse located far away from where he could ever suspect. Everything she demanded was given to her. Her name was evicted from the blacklist, and the huge sum of money she demanded was given to her. It had been two days already yet she didn't let them go.She still hasn't gotten enough of what she wanted. She thought if she let them go Richard would come after her for abducting his family and that could put an end to everything she ever worked for. When her phone rang, she thought the caller was Richard but it turned out to be Dolly. She didn't bother to pick up the call, she didn't attend her engagement party. She supposed Dolly must have known she had already put an end to everything they had in the past. Henrietta was looking at Charlene and her daughter from afar. Far at the edge, she was hugging Daniella like a bird trying to protect its egg from a crack. Suddenly, she leaped up. Ray crocked his gun, ready to
“Nanny Harley, is my wife back?” Richard asked, on his way toward the staircase.“Not yet. She called me an hour ago to inform me she'll be the one to pick up Daniella from school. I presume she called you.”“Oh. I missed her call. There was an important teleconference going on so I couldn't answer the call.” He explained. “Okay.” Richard sauntered to the room, as he stepped in he brought his phone out of his trouser pocket. The maid took his briefcase to its spot and then left the room. He thought of calling her but he decided to freshen up first. He unbuttoned his shirt on his way heading to the bathroom.Shortly after, he ambled out of the bathroom, looking fresh. He sidled across the room to the walk-in closet and got dressed. Wearing casual outfits since he had somewhere he was supposed to be in the next hour. He walked up to the bed, picked up his phone, and tried to call Charlene. Her phone was off. That was odd; he thought. He called again and again, yet he couldn't reach he
She clutched onto his arms with her head lying on his bare chest, sleeping soundlessly. He had woken up but he didn't want to disturb her peaceful sleep. She slept late last night so he wanted her to get enough rest.She adjusted her body close to his and tightened her arm around his body like she was preventing him from getting out of bed. He chortled softly. “Love, are you awake?” He brushed her hair using his fingers. When she murmured, Richard hardly heard what she said underneath. “I need to get to work early today.”“Don't go yet. I want to sleep more. You should at least pay for keeping me awake all night.” With that, she adjusted, glanced over, and winked at him seductively.“I guess you're not going out today.”“Of course, I'm going to visit Veronica. She got discharged two days ago and I haven't seen my niece in two days. I miss her, I hate the fact that she resembles that idiot.”“Are you not happy that his baby takes after him?”“It would have been better if she took afte
Richard had checked every room, looking for her. Daniella wasn't at home as Luciana ordered her driver to come to pick her up since yesterday, she hadn't returned home. Charlene was really happy about it because it was hard to have Richard all to herself whenever she was around. She was very attached to her father and wouldn't let him have Charlene's time. While walking around, he could hear some movement in the kitchen so he decided to check. He had something he wanted to tell her, in the next thirty minutes his driver would come over to drive him back to the mansion and he hadn't informed Charlene yet. He sauntered casually to the kitchen. He caught her sitting on a stool while she was eating, but something around her finger attracted his attention. “You're wearing the ring.” He said when he noticed the wedding ring on her finger. He was standing by the door, looking steadily at her. Charlene halted the knife close to the salmon steak, she moved the fork to her mouth and ate the
“Sarah, are you done with your photography?” It was her fifth time asking her the same question. It had gotten to a point that she wanted to interrupt the whole process but she dared not. It hadn't been up to a month she got hired, even if the industry wasn't well-known by people, at least their payment was enough to keep her on her stead till she finally found an alternative.“Just a minute. They said those pictures they took earlier aren't enough.” Sarah managed to answer while posing for a new shot.Henrietta rolled her eyes. She held the coat jacket tightly, deep down she wished she could crush her at the moment after she managed to catch a glimpse of a mischievous grin across her lips. She shut her eyes briefly to subside the yen, then she spoke up. “The manager wants to speak to us urgently. Make it snappy.” “Alright. Goodness, stop wrecking my jacket. Do you have any idea how much it cost?”“Isn't it fake, bitch? I bet you can't even afford the original product.”She raised he
“Mom, wake up.” Daniella tapped Charlene gently on her arm. She noticed she wasn't responding to her call so she moved closer and tapped her again. “You've got to wake up.” Slowly Charlene yawned. Sitting up, she rubbed the heels of her hands on her eyes. “What's the matter?”“What's wrong with dad?” Charlene was muddled. She stared back at Daniella with the same confused expression she had on her face. “What happened to your dad?” Panicked, she looked eagerly at her. “He said he'll be right back. But when I touched him his temperature was low and he was shivering . Isn't that what you called fever?”Charlene looked at her left side to check the radio clock on the drawer. It was five o'clock in the morning. She drew the blanket over before putting her feet on the cold floor. “You should have woken me up when you noticed that. Where is he right now?”“I don't know. He left the room and he hasn't returned.”“Stay here.” She rose. She slid into her scuffs before standing. Daniella sh
A week had already passed without talking to him, even if he came over to her place she knew it was all because of their daughter. ‘Wait here. I'll get her.’ That had always been the same statement she kept saying to him.There was no way she could run away from it anymore. However, she felt ashamed to face him. Apparently she wasn't mad at him for what happened as Charles had confessed to her that Richard never intended to attend the wedding ceremony, he was the one who convinced him to come over. There was no reason to blame anyone for it. In fact they saved her from a loveless marriage. Charlene shuffled out of the bathroom in a towel. She was heading to the closet when she noticed that her window was open and the breeze made the curtains make some weird sound. She walked over to the window, closed it and turned around. “Danny, were you the one that left the window open?” Charlene asked as she looked around the room. She thought she might be hiding somewhere. “Danny,” She called